Book Review: "Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend" by Mark Malkoff with David Ritz

 

 I have read many books about Johnny Carson. Three Carson books have been released lately, not far apart. The last two that came out were disappointing. They did not have as much information as was expected. I wanted something that took a deep dive into the life of Johnny Carson, the king of late night. I had high hopes for this latest book since it was written by Mark Malkoff, who was the host of my favorite podcast of all time, "The Carson Podcast." I listen to lots of podcasts, such as "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend," "Fly on the Wall," "The Letterman Podcast," "Late Night Playset" and others. Mark's podcast had interviews with big stars such as Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Carol Burnett and many others. Often times, the best guests were the behind-the-scenes people such as writers, segment producers and technical crew members. The research for the podcast was impressive and extensive, so I knew it would be the same case with the book. The book is broken up into three sections: 1962-1972, (the first decade of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, based in New York City) 1972-1982 (the first decade with the show based in Burbank, California) and 1982-1992 (the final decade of Johnny's show, which wrapped up on May 22, 1992). The final section also covered Johnny's retirement years, in which he traveled to exotic locales like Russia and Africa and spent time on his 130 foot yacht, The Serengeti. This book is great since it has many anecdotes from the show, offering behind-the-scenes insights. This book reveals a lot of facts you never knew about Johnny and his landmark show. The quality of Johnny's show was impeccable, and the show ran like a well-oiled machine. Everyone on the staff was the best at their craft. There are many myths or urban legends about Johnny's show. This book tells if they are true or false. You can read about David Letterman, Freddie Prinze, Byron Allen, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Ellen DeGeneres, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka, Rodney Dangerfield and so many other stars. The sensitivity of Johnny is discussed, as well as his feuds, his shortcomings and his generosity. He demanded loyalty and if he was double crossed, he would hold a grudge. He was competitive, and he wanted to be #1, which he was for his 30-year run. Johnny was something special, and part of his success with the show was his breadth of knowledge in many different topics. He had a thirst for knowledge. He loved animals, travel, drumming, jazz music, astronomy, studying languages, comedy, magic and tennis. Producer Peter Lassally called Johnny the most well read person he ever met. Johnny was not a flawless person, but no one is. The book looks at the fact that Johnny was not a perfect father or husband, and he had challenges with alcohol. At the same time, this book presented an optimistic picture of television's premier entertainer. Johnny was a different person off the air as opposed to when he was on the air, and this book takes a deep dive into the complexities of his personality. This book presents an in-depth look into the iconic Johnny Carson, and it's highly recommended for any fan of Johnny, late night TV, or entertainment in general. 

Worldwide Pants

 

For David Letterman’s morning show (1980), that was produced by a company called Space Age Meats. (Letterman always seemed to have a meat obsession). On his CBS Late Show he did a segment called “Know Your Cuts of Meat.” Space Age Meats is also credited with producing Letterman’s NBC show Late Night with David Letterman from 1982-1990. This was produced in partnership with NBC and Carson Productions. Founded in 1991, Worldwide Pants was responsible for co-producing the final two years of Letterman’s Late-Night show (1991-1993) along with NBC and Carson Productions.
Letterman’s 1993 contract had some things in common with Johnny Carson’s 1980 contract. Carson Productions gave Johnny ownership of his show and projects made by the company (Amen and The Big Chill being two examples). With ownership of his Late Show and other programs, Letterman had many projects to contribute to building his wealth. Other than Late Show with David Letterman, the most successful Worldwide Pants show was Everybody Loves Raymond, starring Ray Romano (1996-2005). Letterman had Romano on his Late Show and wanted to base a sitcom around his life. This was co-produced with HBO Independent Productions and creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal’s company, Where’s Lunch. The company tried to produce two programs with Bonnie Hunt, The Building (1993) and Bonnie (2015). Both were short lived. Worldwide Pants produced The Late Late Show which had different hosts, including Tom Snyder (1995-1999), Craig Kilborn (1999-2004) and Craig Ferguson (2005-2014). The program Ed was produced from 2000-2004 and aired on NBC. HBO shows produced by Letterman’s company include The High Life (1996) and Foo Fighters Sonic Highways (2014). Netflix shows include The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (2018-present) and That’s My Time with David Letterman (2022). That’s my Time was a great showcase for young up-and-coming comics. Three shows were produced for PBS in conjunction with Sesame Workshop. The Knights of Prosperity was produced for ABC in 2007. In 2024, TBS aired a Worldwide Pants show called Stupid Pet Tricks, a program that was based on a Letterman staple from his Late Night and Late Show. It was hosted by Sarah Silverman.
Other crazy names for Letterman production companies over the years included: Cardboard Shoe Productions, United States Chemical Cheese Productions and Recreational Poultry Productions.

*Some information from Wikipedia and latenighter.com. 

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction

 

When Johnny Carson retired from The Tonight Show in 1992, people wondered what his next project would be. Besides brief appearances with David Letterman, a Kennedy Center Honors Award and a Bob Hope special, he disappeared. Johnny passed away 13 years later, in 2005. When David Letterman retired from his CBS Late Show in 2015, people thought that Letterman would pull the same disappearing act as his idol, Carson. Thankfully, that did not happen, and David Letterman has kept active with various projects. He is still a co-owner of the Rahal-Letterman-Lanigan Indy racing team. Since growing up in Indianapolis, he has been a die-hard auto racing fan. He appeared at the “Netflix is a Joke” Comedy Festival in Los Angeles. He makes regular appearances on his official You Tube page, being interviewed by longtime producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Plus, he has released several seasons of his Netflix show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.” Since 2018, Letterman has released 5 seasons and 28 episodes. The tagline for the show is “His beard is big. His guests are bigger.” The show has been nominated for a primetime Emmy five times. Its theme song was written and performed by Letterman’s longtime band leader, Paul Shaffer.  This show demonstrates Letterman’s top notch interviewing skills. Even if the viewer is not interested in a specific guest, Letterman makes it fascinating.

His two most recent guests were Miley Cyrus and Charles Barkley. At age 77, David Letterman is no spring chicken. People have suggested that he return to daily TV, or even have a weekly show, perhaps filling in for Jimmy Kimmel, who looks up to Dave like Letterman looked up to Carson. At his stage in life, Dave probably wants a show like he has on Netflix, where he can call the shots and decide how busy he will be. No doubt, he does not need the money. His net worth is a staggering $400 million.

The show is refreshing since Letterman interviews people of all ages and disciplines. It would be easy for him to stick with people only from his age group and talk with nothing but comedians. But he has talked with people much younger than himself who would appeal to a youthful demographic. Examples include: Lizzo, Cardi B, Tiffany Haddish, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Billie Eilish. That is not to say that he has not interviewed more “seasoned” guests, such as: George Clooney, Howard Stern, Robert Downey Jr, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Jerry Seinfeld. In 2018, Letterman interviewed President Barack Obama for this program. That was his first interview since leaving the White House.

His interview with Miley Cyrus had Dave talking with Miley’s mother and sitting with her as Cyrus performed at the legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel in Los Angeles.

When he talked with NBA great Charles Barkley, Dave joined him on the golf course and Charles showed Dave around the TBS studios where he acts as an NBA analyst. Letterman joined Barkley and his cohorts on TBS to discuss the current state of the NBA. Dave talked with Barkley’s co-hosts on the NBA show, including Shaquille O’Neal.

It’s refreshing since the show is not just Letterman sitting in a studio interviewing a guest for an hour, although he could make that interesting. Each show is partially in studio and partially on location. It is nice to see Letterman in a long form interview format where he does not need to break for commercials every few minutes like he did with his shows on CBS and NBC.

In 2022, Letterman did another project for Netflix, called “That’s My Time with David Letterman.” This show consisted of six episodes, recorded at the “Netflix is a Joke” comedy festival in Los Angeles. Each episode featured a comedian doing a stand-up set with Letterman briefly interviewing them afterwards. In 2023, Disney Plus released a show called “Bono and the Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman.” This show had Letterman interviewing the duo from then legendary band U2 in their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Bono and The Edge performed some of their iconic songs, reimagined.

Without a doubt, Letterman will be remembered as one of the icons of late-night television, like his idol, Johnny Carson. 

*Some information from Wikipedia and imdb. 

The Midnight Special

This show was taped at NBC Burbank, down the hall from Johnny Carson. The executive producer was Burt Sugarman. Producers were Dick Ebersol and Stan Harris. It aired as a special in 1972 and started its weekly run in 1973. 90 minutes, 1:00 am to 2:30 am, Friday nights. At that point, stations would sign off after 1 am. Sugarman wanted to attract the 18-33 age bracket audience. There was another reason to have programming after 1:00 am. As of 1971, tobacco ads on network TV were prohibited, so that led to lost revenue that the networks wanted to earn back. Once the time slot became popular, NBC added Tomorrow with Tom Snyder to air Monday through Thursday from 1:00 am to 2:30 am. Wolfman Jack was the announcer and he hosted from 1973-81 for 109 episodes. There was a different guest host each week. The show featured performances by some of the biggest popular music acts of the day. They were taped in front of a live audience. The performers sang live, with no lip-syncing. In 1981 when the show was cancelled, it was replaced by the sketch comedy show SCTV. In 1983, in the dawn of the MTV era, the time slot was taken over by Friday Night Videos. Performers on the show included: Electric Light Orchestra (seven appearances, more than any other band), David Bowie, Tina Turner, The Bee Gees, Paul McCartney, Blondie, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Chuck Berry, BB King, Earth, Wind and Fire, Steely Dan, Michael Jackson, Steve Miller Band, The Doobie Brothers, Supertramp, Prince and many more. Comics that appeared included: Steve Martin, David Brenner, Andy Kaufman, Richard Pryor, George Carlin, George Burns, Bill Cosby, Carol Burnett, Richard Belzer, Joan Rivers, Jonathan Winters and more. This show was created by Burt Sugarman, who was a friend of Johnny Carson. In the 6/4/24 episode of Mark Malkoff’s “Inside Late Night” podcast, Sugarman talks about how Johnny promoted the show since he knew it would attract younger viewers to his show. Sugarman and Carson would play tennis together. From 1975 to 1980, Sugarman was married to Carol Wayne, who worked with Johnny Carson as his “Tea Time Lady” in the Art Fern sketches. Since 1989 he has been married to Mary Hart, host of Entertainment Tonight from 1981 to 2011. The You Tube page for this show has lots of fascinating videos. The quality of the performances was top notch, especially for fans of that era’s music. *Some information from imdb and Wikipedia.

Book review: “Johnny Came Lately” by Fred deCordova, 1989

From 1970 until Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show went off the air in 1992, his executive producer was Fred deCordova (1910-2001). Before working for Johnny, Fred already had built an impressive resume in Broadway, TV and film. He worked with stars such as Jack Benny, Fred MacMurray, George Burns, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and many more. He earned a law degree from Harvard. He directed 108 episodes of My Three Sons. Johnny never let him forget that he directed a film called Bedtime for Bonzo (1951) which starred Ronald Reagan and a chimpanzee. Fred talked about what he called “The Five Musketeers.” This included himself, Johnny, Ed, Doc and director Bobby Quinn. He had a chapter on the Joan Rivers controversy when Joan got a Fox late night show to go against Johnny. This caused a rift and Johnny never talked to Joan for the rest of his life. Fred’s book talked about the many guest hosts who filled in for Johnny over the years. Some were great, some, not so much. Fred mentioned the stars that they would love to have on the show, but their response is always…thanks, but no thanks. Those include: Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep and others. I enjoyed the first half of Fred’s book more than the second half. The first half was largely focused on the day-to-day activities involved in planning The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He detailed in-depth information about his schedule planning the show which involved many meetings. Fred said that every day he had lunch at the NBC commissary, known as The Hungry Peacock, with assistant producer, Peter Lassally. He discussed the roles of the segment producers and writers, who are key to the success of the show. The segment producers/talent coordinators find the appropriate guests and interview them to determine what they need to discuss on the show. Certain writers would provide jokes for the monologue, and others provided material for the comedy bits that Johnny did after the first commercial break. If you listen to Tonight Show producer Peter Lassally’s Carson Podcast, he said that he did most of the work and Fred largely was a figurehead who chatted with the guests. True or not, Fred was involved in many meetings and behind-the-scenes details of putting the show together. He also stood just off camera to give Johnny time cues. During the breaks he would talk to Johnny about any issues with the show. He was an advisor on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show after Johnny retired. Fred even played a producer of a late-night show (what a stretch) in Martin Scorsese’s film The King of Comedy (1982). Ironically, Scorsese wanted Johnny for the main role, a late-night talk show host, but he said no and the role went to Jerry Lewis. Fred played himself on HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show in 1995 and 1998. The fictional late-night show profiled on The Larry Sanders Show seemed to be patterned after Johnny’s show. The second half of the book was the autobiography section, where Fred discussed his work in show business. Different people will find different things interesting. Some may not want to read about every detail of what went into planning Johnny’s show. I found that to be endlessly fascinating. But in the second half of the book, I did not find it interesting to hear some of Fred’s “Old Hollywood” stories about the likes of Ronald Coleman, David Selznick, Sam Goldwyn, Jack Warner, Sam Spiegel, Harry Richman, Tallulah Bankhead and the like. But those people all played important roles in the life of Fred, and an autobiography will discuss prominent people. It’s just that for someone my age, those people were way before my time. No book is 100% perfect, and for those who are hardcore fans of Johnny and his show, this book is recommended, especially the first half. Another great book about the details of putting together Johnny’s show is “Johnny Tonight” by Craig Tennis. The author had the inside scoop since he worked on Johnny’s show for several years as a segment producer.

The Letterman Podcast

If you're a fan of late night TV, and especially David Letterman, I'd highly recommend The Letterman Podcast. They just marked the release of their 100th episode, which consists of a 4-part compilation, looking back on the best moments of the podcast. This podcast is relaeased on Fridays, and sometimes bonus episodes will come out earlier in the week. The host is Mike Chisholm, who is from British Columbia, Canada. He has endless enthusiasm and passion for all things Letterman. I may be a bit biased toward this show, since I have been a guest on two occassions. I have always been a geek who is obsessed with television, especially the late night shows. I love finding people who are as passionate about these type of shows as I am. This show is special since it explores everything about Letterman's career, from the morning show, the NBC Late Night show and the CBS Late Show. Some impressive names have appeared on this show, such as bandleader Paul Shaffer, and comedians Jeff Altman, Dick Cavett and Tom Dreesen. Band members Will Lee, Felicia Collins and Tom "Bones" Malone have also appeared on the podcast. Some of the best guests have been the behind-the-scenes people who worked on Letterman's shows. Producers, writers, a camera operator, a costume designer, a CBS executive, a comedy booker, a promotions director, a technical director, a special effects worker and a graphic artist have been interviewed on the show. Hello Deli owner and frequest Letterman character Rupert Jee appeared on the show. This podcast is the best way to delve into the precise details of David Letterman and how his show operated on a daily basis. This show ran like a well-oiled machine. People who worked on the show were at the highest level of their careers.

The Carson Podcast

Being a show biz junkie, who always wants to learn more about entertainment, I listen to a lot of podcasts. My main interest is the history of late night TV. These days, it seems like everyone has a podcast. So, one must be discerning about which ones we dedicate time to, otherwise we spend our whole lives listening to podcasts. The very best podcast I have found is no longer in existence, but all episodes are still online. The Carson Podcast was active from 2014 to 2022. Over the 8 year period, they had 391 episodes! Host Mark Malkoff interviewed those who worked for Johnny's show, those who appeared on Johnny's show, and top entertainers who were influenced by Johnny Carson. This podcast is the best way to learn about every aspect of Johnny Carson's career. Often times, I felt that the most interesting guests were those who worked on Johnny's show, such as the segment producers, the writers and the musicians. They often had the best anecdotes. Malkoff interviewed many of the crew members, such as stage managers, the audio engineers, Johnny's publicist, secretary and assistants. These people often had the best insights since they saw the operation of the show, day in and day out. The show largely deals with Johnny's reign as the host of NBC's Tonight Show from 1962-1992. But, some shows talk about Johnny's earlier projects or his time after leaving the show. Johnny had a life that was turbulent at times, and he had struggles and triumphs like anyone else. He was not always rich and famous. He had to pay his dues, and some of his shows were not successful. Johnny admitted that he was not the perfect husband or father. This podcast looks at the ups and dows of Johnny's life, and what made him so extraordinary as a late night host. Time and time again, podcast guests bring up Johnny's strong ability as an interviewer. He truly listened to his guests. It was not an interview, it was more like a conversation. Johnny did not need to hog the spotlight for himself. He wanted his guests to shine, since that made the show look good as a whole. I think it helped that Johnny was very smart and multi-faceted. He could talk about anything. He had many hobbies, such as astronomy, listening to jazz, drumming, tennis, travel, and of course comedy. He loved to showcase new comedians. Many comedians credited Carson for their success. He showcased comics such as Joan Rivers, Jerry Seinfeld, Rodney Dangerfield, Roseanne Barr, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Carey, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Don Rickles, Robin Williams and many more. The Carson Podcast has appearances from some of the biggest names in show biz, such as Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Steven Wright, Dick Cavett, Charles Grodin, Rich Little, Richard Lewis and many more. I feel that one of Mark's best guests was Peter Lassally. He knows late night TV better than anyone else, due to his stellar resume. He worked as a producer for Johnny, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson and Tom Snyder. Before working for Johnny, Lassally worked for the mercurial Arthur Godfrey. People talk about Johnny being the king of late night, but I feel that as far as behind-the-scenes folks, the king of late night is Lassally. In his interview with Mark, Lassally was very candid about the inner workings of Johnny's show. Sometimes the podcast had mutiple guests at once, like a writer's round table or a stage manager's round table. Several stand up comics were on at once, so they could bounce ideas off of one another, as they recalled appearing with Johnny. The shows with talent coordinators, also called segment producers, were fascinating since they often had interesting anecdotes about booking celebrities and figuring out what they would do on the show. Writer Bill Carter appeared on the podcast multiple times. Few people know more about late night TV than he does since he wrote the book The Late Shift, (which became an HBO movie about Carson, Letterman and Leno), and was the TV writer for The New York Times. NBC photographers did the podcast, and even the guy who drew several of the "More to Come" bumper graphics. Irving Davis was on the podcast multiple times. He is the one who held open the rainbow curtain for Johnny before he came out for his monologue. He has a persoective on the inner workings of the show like few others. I was excited when I saw that Mark had secured Jim Mullholland as a guest. He wrote for Johnny, David Letterman and Dean Martin. Letterman producers Rob Burnett and Robert Morton were guests on the podcast. Bandleader Doc Severinsen and other band members appeared on the podcast. As a musician, that was the ultimate gig. Steady pay, no travel, and a place to practice your craft each night. Johnny's Tonight Show was big time show biz at its finest. Many of the crew members mentioned how the show operated like a well-oiled machine. We don't have time machines, and the story of Marty McFly was just fiction, but I have often thought it would be a dream to go back to the period of NBC Burbank where Johnny was doing his iconic show, and be a fly on the wall to see how it all came together. Listening to this podcast is the next best thing.

Johnny Carson Returns to Late Night

The past couple of years, we have witnessed many changes in the late night TV landscape. David Letterman, Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson stepped down after many years as television mainstays. Stephen Colbert, James Corden and Jimmy Fallon stepped into new roles.

On January 1st, the Antenna TV network started airing episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The program airs 7 nights per week. Monday through Friday are the 60 minute episodes made between 1980 and 1992. On Saturday and Sunday, the 90 minute shows will air, which were produced previous to 1980. Tune in weeknights at 11:00 pm eastern and 10:00 pm eastern on weekends. Johnny's show aired on NBC from 1962-1992. Most of the shows made for the first 10 years were not archived. It was the practice back then to record over shows once they aired.

It is truly a pleasure to see these classic shows on TV again. It is obvious that so much of what we see on late night TV today was influenced by Carson. Younger generations will get exposed to the genius of this show. It is staggering to think about the groundbreaking comedians who got their big break with Johnny. A good appearance on the show would send struggling careers into the stratosphere.

Johnny's success can be traced to a couple of factors. Unlike many of today's hosts, he really listened to his guests. He was not glued to his notes, obsessing about his next question. Also, he wanted his guests to shine. He did not need to hog the spotlight and get all of the laughs for himself. He knew that if he had top-notch guests, it was good for the show. Between the celebrities, the skits by "The Mighty Carson Art Players", the outstanding big band jazz NBC Orchestra and the personalities of Johnny, Ed and Doc, this show was something special.

Those who enjoyed the show can check out the Facebook Johnny Carson Fan Club here.

After 33 Years in Late Night, Letterman Says Good Bye

David Letterman has completed 6,028 shows and he surpassed his hero, Johnny Carson. Johnny worked in late night for 30 years and Dave beat that by 3 years.

Many times, the final episode of an iconic show leaves us disappointed, wanting more. We get our hopes up and we feel let down. That was not the case with this show. It was thoroughly satisfying. It was the right mix of humor, sentimentality, celebrity guests, looking back on classic moments, a lot of gratitude and music.

Last night's finale began with former president Gerald Ford and his quote about Richard Nixon "Our long national nightmare is over". Other presidents chimed in with their renditions of that phrase, in reference to Letterman's show ending.

The star studded top 10 list was a highlight of the night. The category was "The top 10 things I always wanted to say to Dave". The celebrities included:

Alec Baldwin
Barbara Walters
Steve Martin
Jerry Seinfeld
Jim Carrey
Chris Rock
Julia Louis Dreyfus
Peyton Manning (Dave seemed star struck by the athlete)
Tina Fey
Bill Murray

The show had a video that showed a day in the life of Letterman, behind-the-scenes. It showed him arriving in the morning, meeting with writers and producers, chatting with the audience and taping the show. Carson did something similar on his last show.

Dave showed old clips of him with kids and his stint at working the drive through window at Taco Bell. The Taco Bell bit along with his bits with Rupert Jee going undercover and bothering people are some of the best moments from his career. The past several years, he has limited himself to comedy bits in the studio as a rule. Many feel that his show has become stale as time went by at CBS, and it has lacked the edginess that he once had.

Letterman acknowledged his crew and their role in the success of the show. Some may have expected an emotional show but overall it was not. Dave was clearly moved by having his wife and son there and regarding them, he said "Nothing else matters".

Some of the clips and photos were from his days at NBC. After leaving the peacock network in 1993, they did not let him take some of his bits to CBS, calling them the intellectual property of NBC. It is good that NBC gave the ok to use some footage from his old show in his final CBS show. He even had clips from his short-lived NBC morning show.

Dave said a simple "Thank you and good night". The Foo Fighters played one of Dave's favorite songs and the closing credits had pictures of the staff members.

James Corden began his Late Late Show with a tribute to Dave as he featured Sting singing in front of Letterman's New York theatre. He then had Reggie Watts and the band play their version of Letterman's theme song. For his monologue, Corden mentioned how Dave had influenced him and others. He felt honored to follow Dave's final show. It was a classy tribute.

Johnny Carson was legendary and Letterman borrowed a lot from him. He also had Steve Allen (the original Tonight Show host) as a significant influence. I have watched Letterman since high school. For many years it was my dream to work behind-the-scenes in late night. It's a unique television genre with a mix of stand up comedy, funny taped bits, celebrities and music. It's the end of an era.

Paul Shaffer said it best with his final words to Dave: "You changed our lives. We loved every minute of it".

*Photos are courtesy of Late Show Facebook page.

More Late Night TV Changes

Tonight is the premiere of British comic James Corden as the fourth host of the CBS Late Late Show. Last year we saw the debut of Jimmy Fallon as the new host of NBC's The Tonight Show after Jay Leno left. We also had announcements of David Letterman leaving CBS later this year and Stephen Colbert taking over that coveted slot. The CBS Late Late Show has followed Letterman's program since 1995. Tom Snyder was the host from 1995-1999. Craig Kilborn then hosted the show from 1999-2004. The last host was Scottish comic Craig Ferguson from 2005-2014.

Since the arrival of Letterman in 1993, CBS has had a strong comedy presence in late night. For decades, NBC ruled late night with Johnny Carson's show, and the other networks struggled to keep up. The other networks and syndicators tried to compete with Carson with shows hosted by Dick Cavett, Joey Bishop, Pat Sajak, Merv Griffin, Magic Johnson, Chevy Chase, Arsenio Hall and more. From 1972-1989, CBS aired the late movie after the late local news. This started after the cancellation of Merv Griffin's attempt at a late night show. CBS tried various shows during late night such as their Crimetime After Primetime from 1991-1993. This lineup featured various crime shows such as Sweating Bullets, Scene of the Crime, Silk Stalkings, Forever Knight, Fly By Night and more. From 1992-1995, CBS aired Lorne Michaels' sketch show The Kids in the Hall on Friday nights.

* Some information from en.wikipedia.org.

Letterman Salutes His Old Friend Robin Williams

Last week Letterman was on vacation, airing reruns. Monday night, David Letterman had a nice tribute to his friend , the late Robin Williams. The two had known each other 38 years, since the 1970s when they were struggling comedians in Los Angeles. Dave recalled how he and other comedians were floored by Robin's talent, and it was evident back in the 1970s that he was a cut above the rest. At the legendary Comedy Store in those days, Letterman's contemporaries were comics like Jimmie Walker, Jay Leno, Tom Dreesen, Elaine Boosler and more. Letterman had a nice sequence of clips from Robin's many appearances on the show over the years. Watch a clip from last night's show here.

From working as a TV weatherman in his hometown of Indianapolis to his current CBS late night show, David Letterman has had a varied career, spanning almost 45 years. In the 1970s he moved to Los Angeles and worked as a stand up comic. He landed bit parts "The Gong Show", "Password", "Hollywood Squares", and a variety show starring Mary Tyler Moore. Dave also had a small part on Robin's show "Mork and Mindy". He acknowledged that he was not much of an actor and it he needed a job so Robin helped him out. The second photo above shows Dave on Robin's show (nice leisure suit and medallion)! He became a regular guest host for Johnny Carson starting in 1979. He moved to New York and had many years of success on NBC with his late night show (1982-1993) and his current CBS show which he has hosted since 1993. See 15 of his career highlights in this article from the Hollywood Reporter.

David Letterman Announces His Retirement

After working in late night TV since 1982, David Letterman announced yesterday that he will retire from CBS in 2015. Dave hosted the "Late Night with David Letterman" show on NBC from 1982-1993. After the debacle with Carson leaving and Leno stepping in, Dave went to CBS to host "Late Show with David Letterman" starting in 1993. His hero Johnny Carson worked in late night TV for 30 years, from 1962-1992. So, I wondered if Letterman would step down in 2012, which would have been his 30th year in late night.

The conversation will invariably now turn to the question of who will be Letterman's replacement. Unlike Johnny Carson, Letterman has not had guest hosts who step in when he is gone. With Carson, we were able to see people audition to replace Johnny. Leno and Letterman and many others stepped in for Johnny when he was off so we saw how they would do as hosts. When Leno left, Fallon and Meyers had been lined up in advance to take over the late night NBC shows. They had no talk show experience but they had both worked as Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchors. I wonder if in his last year, Letterman may have some guest hosts.

I think that these people will be discussed as possible replacements for Letterman.

Conan O'Brien
He really got a raw deal with NBC and he's now with TBS. I'd love to see him get the position since he's a top notch interviewer and he has a comic creativity that few others have.

Jay Leno
This is a long shot since he has already hosted for many years on NBC and he's not a young guy, but I wonder if CBS may consider him anyway. He might want to just stick to his stand up and tinkering with his cars.

Jon Stewart
He is a funny guy, but would he want to leave his deal at Comedy Central where he is already making a lot of money and he is in his element?

Stephen Colbert
He is so good with his Colbert Report, so he would probably be considered by CBS, but I don't know if he would want to do a mass appeal show. Plus he would be himself, not doing a character.

Chelsea Handler
She is leaving her show on E! so CBS might want to go with a female host. She is a good stand up and she has interviewed a lot of people on her show.

Craig Ferguson
Often a network will take the 12:35 am host and put them in at the 11:35 pm slot. His humor is too absurd for 11:35, and I often wonder how he stays on the air, with his same bits every night. Hopefully CBS does not do the thing that NBC did with moving Jimmy Fallon to an hour earlier.

Probably the most likely person would be someone not mentioned here. Someone out of left field may get it. CBS may want a young person to battle the young audience being attracted by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. When Letterman moved to CBS in 1993, NBC plucked a name out of nowhere to replace him at 12:35, and that was Conan O'Brien. CBS may find a comedy writer or a comedian that none of us would expect.

Fallon Kicks Off His Tonight Show with Humility and Humor

Last night's premiere episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon got off to a good start. 11.3 million people watched his inaugural show, probably boosted by the Olympic viewership. Musical group The Roots and announcer Steve Higgins remained on board from the old show as Fallon's new show was broadcast from Studio 6B. The show started with an opening sequence directed by Spike Lee showing shots of The Big Apple. The Tonight Show has not been based out of New York since 1972 when Johnny Carson departed for Burbank, California. Fallon obviously knows he has some big shoes to fill, hosting such a legendary show. He acknowledged the previous hosts; Allen, Paar, Carson, Leno and O'Brien. His parents were in the audience cheering him on. He mentioned how as a kid, he begged his parents to let him stay up late to watch Johnny Carson. He had a tongue-in-cheek reference to the changing hosts as he said "I'm Jimmy Fallon and I'll be your host... for now". I don't think he takes anything for granted, and he knows the pressure is on to deliver. Will Smith joined Fallon for a funny skit about the history of hip-hop dancing. There were brief cameos by many celebrities including Robert DeNiro, Joan Rivers, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey and Steven Colbert. The appearance by Joan Rivers was a big deal since she had been banned from The Tonight Show for almost 30 years. Carson banned her after finding out she was going to host a rival show on Fox in the mid-1980s. Leno had continued the ban during his 22-year tenure.

Musical guests U2 performed in a stunning setting, 70 stories high atop Rockefeller Center at sunset, in midtown Manhattan (above). Members of the Rutgers marching band drumline backed up the Irish supergroup. The performance by U2 was amazing from a technical standpoint, with sweeping shots of the musicians with the gorgeous New York skyline in the background. Later the group joined Fallon in studio for an interview and a second song.

The social media audience that Fallon has built up will be a key to his success. He has legions of Twitter followers (11.6 million on his personal page), and it is clear that he and his staff know the power of internet marketing to get people to see his comedy. This is not Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. The landscape of TV is highly fragmented and there are more choices for viewers than ever before. 11.3 million viewers would not be big for Carson, but the world has changed so much since the days of the 3 broadcast networks being the primary sources for entertainment. These days, one has to gauge success not only by broadcast television numbers, but by the show's impact in cyberspace. With the widespread use of DVRs, people are deciding when to watch the show, and many do not watch it at 11:35 pm. Also, people are sometimes watching only part of the show, not the whole thing. The bit that Fallon did with Will Smith has "gone viral" with many people watching that clip online. Just 2 days after it aired on TV, the You Tube clip of this has been viewed over 4.3 million times.

At 39 years old, Fallon can appeal to generation X, generation Y and millenials. The question is, will NBC put pressure on him to appeal to an even wider audience and tone down some of his comedy bits he did at 12:35? Leno and Letterman have been criticized for not being edgy and striving to reach mass audiences. Letterman's show at 11:35 is different from his show was at 12:35. Only time will tell with Fallon, but I think he will be just fine, bringing some energy and creativity to a storied TV franchise that has needed it for years.

The late night lineup on NBC is now controlled by one man, longtime Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. He is the producer for The Tonight Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers and SNL. So, one person is in charge of 11.5 hours per week of network TV for the first time ever.

Late night fans will want to check out my website. It covers all the late night hosts over the years. It's the ultimate database of late night television history. This site has 6 pages dedicated to the king of late night, Johnny Carson. 3 pages cover the career of David Letterman. It has information about TV pioneers like Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Dick Cavett, Tom Snyder and more. The site covers the many short lived late night shows such as those from Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Pat Sajak, Chevy Chase, and many more. Current talk show hosts are profiled, including Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson and more. You can access it here.